A near-term pricing shift for commercial lines is unlikely, and recent deterioration in underwriting results has led to a decline in premium revenues unseen since the 1930s, according to a recent Fitch Ratings report.

Simultaneous reports were released from Willis, Lockton, and Fitch discussing pricing trends, underwriting results, and catastrophe impacts on the commercial insurance market. We help you make sense of it all by providing a summary of each inside.

Industry reports released over the past week show that plenty of capacity still remains for property and casualty lines, but the direction of pricing remains uncertain.

Berkshire Hathaway saw its 2011 first-quarter net income drop more than 58 percent to $1.5 billion after catastrophes in the quarter caused estimated losses of nearly $1.7 billion.

Insurance groups again made their case during a New York legislative hearing for reforms to the state's no-fault system, which the groups say is riddled with fraud and costs citizens hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

The recent increase in share-repurchase programs among U.S. property and casualty insurers is manageable and unlikely to jeopardize the companies’ capital positions, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

While private U.S. property and casualty insurers’ 2010 net income rose to $34.7 billion from $28.7 billion the year before, the industry’s net losses on underwriting for the year grew $7.4 billion compared to 2009.

Property and casualty insurers can expect moderate net premium growth but additional deterioration in underwriting results for 2011, according to a new forecast and analysis released by Conning Research and Consulting.